


Coming up orchids

by ineptshieldmaid



Category: Star Trek XI
Genre: Character of Color, Cultural Differences, Gen, alien character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-05-28
Updated: 2010-05-28
Packaged: 2017-10-13 13:47:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/138038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ineptshieldmaid/pseuds/ineptshieldmaid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A daily life snapshot: Sulu grows orchids and sleepy Orions in his greenhouse</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coming up orchids

'Don't break her,' Sulu said, patting the console fondly. Chekov narrowed his eyes at him, sliding into the pilot's seat.

'I am a fully qualified Starfleet pilot, Hikaru,' he said, with just the faintest hint of a pout. Sulu resisted the urge to ruffle his hair, and punched him gently in the shoulder instead.

'Yeah, yeah,' he agreed. ''Course you are. Don't terrorise Lieutenant Rihan, either - she's a fully qualified Starfleet navigator, same as you.' He could see the Lieutenant smirking to herself as she keyed into the navigation console.

'Go away, Hikaru,' Chekov ordered him. 'Lieutenant Rihan and I will be excellent friends.' And Sulu went. He knew exactly what Kirk was doing, swapping them about like this: it was, as Spock put it, only _logical_ that the crew should spend some time working in their secondary and even tertiary capacities. Working with crew members from the alternate shift was also logical, but Sulu normally spent Thursday nights with Chekov, giving the kid basic fencing lessons in return for access to the mysterious stash of whisky and vodka kept under lock and key by Scotty and Chekov.

Deciding against Alpha Shift bar hour, Sulu keyed into his own rooms and shrugged off his shirt. He kept his rooms warm and humid - for his own sake as much as the plants. _Enterprise_ wasn't exactly cold, but the piped air was dry, and at the end of the day, he just preferred the humid climate. Chekov thought he was a little mad, but then, Chekov spent at least an hour a week in the leisure simulations, hiking through imaginary snow.

Sulu pottered through his living room, tidying up the mess he'd left in the morning. He'd combined his sleeping and living quarters, in order to convert the second room into a small greenhouse. He could have set himself up in the ship's gardens, as a few other crewmembers had done - but then, he had this nice suite here, might as well make use of it. Grabbing his secateurs from the breakfast table (obviously the sensible place to keep them), he decided this afternoon was as good an afternoon as any to cut orchids - and then find someone who wouldn't take amiss his presentation of a carefully arranged bouquet.

It was ship's summer, so he had several hours of manufactured sunshine yet. And, he discovered, sprawled between the orchids and the bougainvillea, a path full of sleepy Orion, all green skin and red hair under the greenhouse lamps. Sulu looked down at her for a moment, trying to decide whether he should wake her or leave her be. Perhaps sensing him, Gaila blinked up at him. 'Hikaru,' she mumbled, sleepily. 'Alpha shift over already?'

'You're not on beta shift, are you?' he asked.

Gaila shook her head, stretching her arms out above her head. 'These lamps are lovely,' she said, with a satisfied smile. 'Sorry I overslept. It's not often I get sunshine and privacy together.' Sulu had given Gaila the code to his room a few weeks ago: turns out Orions rely on photosynthesis for about a third of their energy intake, and, although she had a sunlamp in her own room, she was never really able to get enough light out of it. The botany staff would leave her be if she napped in the ships' garden, but, well, the crew was mostly human, and most humans took it amiss if they found their crewmates lying about naked in the garden. Sulu, who regarded minimal clothing as one of the major benefits of his artificially tropical environment, thought it no great hardship to share his greenhouse occasionally.

'No problem,' Sulu said easily, stepping over her and moving on to the orchids. 'Don't let me disturb you.' Gaila mumbled something in assent, and he worked in silence for a while, clipping out one or two of the best blooms, and then prowling about the room in search of foliage to complement them. By the time he got to his workbench to arrange them, Gaila was curled up in the deckchair to one side. He reached out and swiveled one of the sunlamps around so that it shone on her skin - the plants beneath it would survive for a few hours. Gaila's wide smile was reward enough for him.

'How's Jim's little experiment working out?' Gaila regarded Kirk's shift-swapping plans with the same faint amusement as the rest of the Engineering section, especially considering that the captain had floated the possibility of rotating crewmembers out of their usual workplace for a week or two. Engineering were something of a law unto themselves: fiercely territorial and tolerant only of the whims of one Montgomery Scott.

'Alright,' Sulu said. 'Ensign Bucar turns out to be a decent navigator. Not too friendly, though.' He paused for a second. 'Hey, Gaila?'

She tilted her head to one side, and, _damn_. She was gorgeous, no doubt about that, but that didn't quite explain why she had half the crew eating out of her hand. More likely it was the impish grin which was never far from her eyes, like she knew a particularly funny secret and was about to let you in on it.

'Would you mind putting on pants?' he said, and she flushed a slightly yellower shade of green.

'Sorry,' she said. 'I can put all my clothes on, if it would make you more comfortable.'

Sulu shook his head. 'Pants is fine,' he said, tying up the bouquet with string.

'Humans are weird,' Gaila called out over her shoulder, as she set off in search of pants.

'I won't argue with that,' Sulu said.

'I suppose that means you don't want to have sex?' Gaila said.

'No, sorry,' Sulu answered. 'Girls aren't really my thing anymore.' Gaila made a soft snorting noise, one which meant _I know that, stupid_. 'You have any fancy for flowers? It'd be a shame to waste a nice arrangement like this on myself.'

Gaila returned, clad in panties and a bra. 'I don't think I even own a vase,' she said, wrapping one arm around his waist.

'Philistine,' Sulu said, and took the opportunity to tickle her sides. Maybe it was an Orion thing, maybe it was just Gaila, but she was very, _hilariously_ ticklish. Unfortunately for Sulu, so was he, and Gaila was a quick study. They ended up on the floor in a tangle of limbs and breathless giggles, and it was Sulu who surrendered. Gaila pinned his hands to the floor for a second, then collapsed against his side, settling with her face pressed into the crook of his shoulder. Sulu ran his fingernails gently up and down her back, and Gaila made small comfortable noises against his skin.

'This is nice,' she said, sounding sleepy again.

'Yeah,' Sulu agreed. ''snice.'

'Humans don't touch enough,' Gaila said. 'You think it's all a sex thing, but it's...' she trailed off, sounding lost. Sulu smiled, and tangled his fingers in her hair.

'I know,' he said. 'We're weird creatures, aren't we?'

'Could be worse,' Gaila giggled. 'Could be Vulcans.' They pondered that possibility for a moment, and then Gaila sat up, suddenly excited.

'Can I take the flowers?'

'Sure,' Sulu said. 'What's the plan?'

'Um.' She bit her lip for a moment. 'My friend ended her romantic relationship. Flowers are supposed to make human women feel special, aren't they?'

'Depends on the woman,' Sulu qualified. 'But yes, flowers are usually a welcome gift.' Hauling himself to his feet, he picked up the bouquet from the table and held it out to her. 'It could be interpreted as a romantic gesture, though,' he warned. 'And flowers aren't normally appropriate for short-term liaisons.'

'Thank you.' Gaila leaned in and kissed him, before taking the bouquet. 'I appreciate it.' He wasn't sure if she meant the flowers or the advice - maybe both. 'I'll see you at dinner?'

'Sure thing,' Sulu said, as she turned away. 'Don't forget your uniform!'


End file.
